1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to golf balls which have an outstanding flight performance, a soft “feel” upon impact, cover's scuff resistance and paint coating's abrasion resistance.
2. Prior Art
Golf balls of varying structures are known in the art. A number of proposals have been made on solid golf balls, especially multi-piece solid golf balls having a solid core enclosed with a plurality of cover layers in order to further improve their carry, controllability (spin rate) and feel. The present assignee, among others, has already disclosed many outstanding golf balls.
For example, JP-A 9-215775 describes a multi-piece solid golf ball which is improved in carry, controllability, straight run and rolling on the green, and cover durability by optimizing the inertia moment of the ball in accordance with the hardness of the cover outermost layer, and optimizing dimple parameters.
JP-A 10-151225 discloses a golf ball having a solid core, a mantle and a cover, in which the specific gravity of solid core is less than those of mantle and cover, the Shore D hardness of mantle is higher than that of cover, and the inertia moment of the overall ball is set at 83 g-cm2 or greater, whereby the golf ball is endowed with a soft feel and a satisfactory spin receptivity for a particular type of club, without detracting from carry and durability, that is, the golf ball having the advantages of carry, durability, feel and spin controllability.
JP-A 10-151226 discloses a golf ball having a solid core, a mantle and a cover, in which the solid core has a deflection of at least 2.5 mm under a load of 100 kgf, the Shore D hardness of mantle is at least 13 units higher than that of cover, and the inertia moment of the overall ball is set at 83 g-cm2 or greater, whereby the golf ball is endowed with a soft feel and a satisfactory spin receptivity for a particular type of club, without detracting from carry and durability, that is, the golf ball having the advantages of carry, durability, feel and spin controllability.
JP-A 11-104273 discloses a golf ball having a solid core, a cover inner layer and a cover outer layer, in which the solid core has a deflection of at least 2.4 mm under a load of 100 kgf, the cover inner layer is formed primarily of an ionomer resin to a Shore D hardness of 28–58, the cover outer layer is formed primarily of a thermoplastic polyurethane elastomer to a Shore D hardness of 30–55, whereby the golf ball has an increased carry, controllability on iron shots, a good feel when hit with any of wood, iron and putter clubs, resistance to burring on control shots with an iron club, and durability.
JP-A 2001-54588 describes a golf ball having a solid core, a cover inner layer and a cover outer layer, in which the solid core has a deflection of at least 1.1 mm under a load of 30 kgf, the cover inner layer has a Shore D hardness of 45–61, the cover outer layer has a Shore D hardness of 35–55, the sum of dimple trajectory volumes obtained by multiplying a dimple volume by the square root of a dimple diameter is in a range of 530–750, whereby the golf ball features an elongated flight performance with a relatively low trajectory, an increased carry, controllability on iron shots, a good feel when hit with any of wood, iron and putter clubs, resistance to burring on control shots with an iron club, and durability.
JP-A 2002-85587, 2002-85588 and 2002-85589 disclose golf balls featuring an excellent flight performance, good spin characteristics, a good feel when hit with any of wood, iron and putter clubs, resistance to burring on control shots with an iron club, and durability.
These prior-art golf balls all have an excellent feel and an excellent carry and other flight characteristics, and can be suitably adapted to various requirements dictated by the skill level of the golfer and the intended use of the ball (e.g., recreational or competitive). Yet, given the ever-high expectations of golfers, there exists a need for golf balls endowed with an even better performance.